How do I find the property taxes on a house?

Claire, do not trust the tax figure on the listing site. It is usually the prior owner's bill, and in Illinois that can be badly misleading for you specifically. Go to the county source and then adjust for two things the listing will never tell you. Where to look, in order. Kane County's assessment and treasurer sites let you look up any parcel by address and see the assessed value, the exemptions currently applied, and the actual tax billed. That is the real number, not an estimate. Once you have it, do the two adjustments. Adjustment one: exemptions that will not follow the house to you. This is the big one in Illinois. If the current owner has a senior citizens homestead exemption, or any other exemption tied to them personally, that reduction disappears when they sell. You will qualify for the general homestead exemption on your primary residence, but not for theirs. Buyers see a low bill, buy the house, and get a materially higher bill the following year. Look at the exemption lines on the parcel record specifically, and ask your agent or the assessor what the bill would look like without the ones that do not transfer. Adjustment two: reassessment after sale. Your purchase price is a data point. It does not automatically become the assessed value, but a sale well above the current assessment can draw attention at the next reassessment cycle. Do not budget assuming the assessment stays frozen. For comparing towns, which is what you are really doing, use the effective tax rate rather than the dollar amount. That is the annual tax divided by the market value, expressed as a percentage. It is the only fair way to compare across communities, because assessment ratios and local levies differ. In Illinois, effective rates vary a lot even between neighboring towns, driven mostly by school district funding. Two houses at the same price a few miles apart can differ by thousands of dollars a year. That difference is permanent and it buys your monthly payment nothing. Now the part that connects to affordability, since that is your actual question. Your lender will almost certainly escrow your taxes, meaning one twelfth of the annual bill is collected with each mortgage payment. So property taxes are not a once a year event. They are part of your monthly number from day one, and in Illinois they are often a very large part of it. Two things follow. Run the payment with the corrected tax figure, not the seller's. On a high tax parcel this can move your monthly payment by several hundred dollars, which changes what price range you should even be shopping. Expect an escrow adjustment in year one or two. Illinois bills in arrears, so the first bills after your purchase may still reflect the old assessment and old exemptions. When the corrected bill arrives, your servicer runs an escrow analysis, and your payment goes up to cover both the higher amount and the shortfall. This surprises a lot of first time buyers. Ask your lender to run the escrow estimate on the adjusted number so you are not caught by it. One note since you asked this in 2023. Assessments and levies have moved since then, so pull the current year figures rather than anything from that period. I am a real estate professional, not a CPA, so confirm the exemption details with the Kane County assessor's office directly. I am Zoltan Peresztegi and I work in Los Angeles and the South Bay, so I am not licensed in Illinois, but I am glad to help you sanity check an affordability calculation if you post the numbers, and I can connect you with a strong local agent in the Fox Valley area. Zoltan

Most major real estate websites will have the tax information listed. If not, you can call your local tax municipality and they can disclose. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

1. County Assessor or Treasurer website Every county publishes property tax records online. If you have a specific address, you can search the county property records to see the most recent tax bill and assessed value. 2. Real estate listing sites Many listings on sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, or MLS-based brokerage sites include the latest annual property tax amount in the property details. This gives you a quick estimate while browsing homes. 3. Your real estate agent A Realtor can quickly pull the most recent tax amount and tax history from the MLS and explain how taxes vary by community. Keep in mind that property taxes can change after a sale, especially if a property is reassessed. When you’re determining affordability, it’s wise to estimate a little higher than the current tax bill so there are no surprises later. Carol Hunt Broker, ePRO®, GRI Baird & Warner, Winnetka 847-404-7959 [email protected]

Yes, with what Julianne said is correct. Many counties in IL will see an increase in taxes, some as high as 17%. Which will certainly make a difference in your mortgage payment. I would be happy to assist more, I am local. Reach out with any questions you may have.

It is best to speak with a local real estate professional about your areas tax structure. Many times there is what is call point of sale reassessment. Basically what that means is your taxes are based on the homes purchase price. So even if the current owners are paying low taxes since they owned the home for a very long time -- you will be paying market value base on the purchase price and not benefit the same low taxes. This property tax change can be delayed by a tax year -- so the first year is lower -- following year is based on purchased price.